


Chick Ran Away With My Heart

by TheBeckster



Category: Harvest Moon, Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town
Genre: Crushes, F/F, First Kiss, Love Confessions, Mild Language, nobody wants to admit their feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:28:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24576085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBeckster/pseuds/TheBeckster
Summary: Claire, a brand new farmer, falls hard for the girl next door. But she knows better. Girls like Popuri never go for girls like Claire. Right?My contribution to the Bokumono Spring 2020 Exchange for tookbackthefalls on tumblr!
Relationships: Claire the Farmer/Popuri (Harvest Moon)
Comments: 23
Kudos: 54
Collections: Bokumono Exchanges





	Chick Ran Away With My Heart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tookbackthefalls on Tumblr](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=tookbackthefalls+on+Tumblr), [frostedtemmieflakes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/frostedtemmieflakes/gifts).



> This is my gift to tookbackthefalls (on tumblr) as part of the Bokumono Spring 2020 Exchange.  
> I had so much fun writing this. I hope you like it too.  
> (Yes, it's a cheesy ass title, all I could come up with were cheesy titles. This was the best of the worst. lmao I'm not gonna apologize)

It started with a runaway chicken and one conveniently placed, newly-minted farmer.

Claire had only been in town for a few days. She had spent most of her time unpacking and settling in and clearing enough space in the overgrown fields to plant some turnips. Aside from a brief tour of town on her first day in, she had hardly stepped off her far. Claire thought it was about time she met her neighbors.

The blacksmith had been her first stop, his being the first building she saw on the way into town. Saibara was about as friendly as she expected of a man of his age – more gruff than anything – but he at least encouraged her work on the farm. His apprentice was surlier than the old man and Claire barely got a full sentence from him before deciding it was best to move on. An argument was brewing over the forge.

Not to be deterred by one sourpuss, Claire moved onto the next neighbors; a poultry farm that backed up to her own property. Claire had said a few words in passing to the young man who worked there over the fence, but she hadn’t yet met his sister or mother.

She had barely stepped up to the farm’s gate when someone called out, “Catch that chicken!”

Claire moved automatically, stooping and catching the bird that was trying to make a break for freedom right past her legs. She almost dropped it a couple times ad she juggled it into a more secure hold that didn’t include getting scratched by its sharp claws, but that didn't stop the girl who came chasing after it from smiling brightly at Claire. She was really cute, with thick, curly pink hair, and bright garnet colored eyes. She was wearing a dress with a black corset-like bodice and a long red skirt. Ad she kept most of her pink curls out of her face with a mint-green headband.

“Thanks a lot,” she gasped, taking the unhappy hen from Claire's arms. “This one's our little escape artist.” She giggled nervously. “If Rick knew I'd let her escape again...” she trailed off and smiled weakly. She cleared her throat and cocked her head slightly to the side. “We haven't met before. I'm Popuri. You're the new farmer, right?”

Clair felt her cheeks warm as she realized she had been staring at the cute girl. “Uh, yeah, I'm Claire.” She automatically offered her hand to shake before remembering that Popuri’s arms were full of irritated chicken. She dropped her hand quickly, awkwardly.

“It’s really nice to meet you. I've got to get this one put away,” she held the struggling chicken a little closer, “but come on by and visit again. We've got a store for all your poultry needs. A farm's gotta have chickens, right?”

“Yeah, definitely.”

The foiled chicken gave an impatient squawk and tried to flap herself free from Popuri's arms. “I gotta go,” Popuri sighed impatiently. She turned back to the coops but called over her shoulder, “Don't be a stranger!”

Claire waved lamely at her retreating back until she disappeared inside a large chicken coop. She shook herself firmly and continued down the road. In a new town for three days and already getting a crush on the girl next door. It would never work. Cute girls like Popuri never went for girls like Claire.

Still, she resolved to save up as quickly as possible so she could afford a chicken. It would give her an excuse to visit her neighbors again.

* * *

Claire made an effort to not be a stranger to her new neighbors. And in the case of a town this small, her neighbors ended up being the whole population, but she didn't mind too much. Being friendly gave her an excuse to regularly stop by the Poultry Farm and talk to Popuri, even if she didn't have business there. Over a few weeks, being neighborly turned into a lot of chatting over their shared fence. There was a spot just hidden from the main house where Popuri could sit and talk to Claire without Rick getting on her case about shirking chores.

And they talked a lot.

Popuri never seemed to run out of things to say, and Claire didn't mind in the least. They talked about the town and the mountain and hot spring. Popuri complained about Rick, and confided in Claire about her mother's illness. She gushed excitedly about the summer and the best festivals. Claire shared a bit about her life before Mineral Town. Popuri always listened with rapt attention whenever Claire mentioned someplace she had traveled or lived before.

They became fast friends, but nothing more than that. Claire had tried dropping a couple hints to test the waters and see if Popuri was remotely interested in a relationship like that, but her hints either went unnoticed or purposefully ignored.

It didn't take long for Claire to realize she had competition. Whenever Popuri mentioned the rapidly approaching summer, she mentioned Kai in the same breath. He was Popuri's dream man. Untethered, traveling to exciting locales every year, living his life on a whim. He was her gateway out of this tiny village. Claire had settled in to be a farmer here for the rest of her life.

It was a no-brainer for anyone who knew Popuri. She wanted to see the world.

Still, every day Claire would meet Popuri at their fence for their daily gab. Usually Claire had a present for her, something small like a wildflower she picked during her hike up the mountain, or a couple spa-boiled eggs for them to share.

And when Kai showed up at the beginning of summer, Claire was civil to him. He was a charming guy and easy to get along with, but that didn't mean she didn't privately agree with some of Rick's salty comments about him either. She hated the way Popuri clung to him as soon as he arrived in town.

Claire and Popuri saw less of each other during the summer. Claire was busy with her rapidly growing farm, and Popuri was spending most of her free time on the beach. Their daily chats grew shorter and a lot more Kai-focused. Claire swallowed her disappointment and tried to be a good friend. Maybe when Kai left at the end of the summer they could pick up where they left off.

Then one day in late summer, Claire went to their fence and Popuri wasn't there. She waited for a minute, sometimes Popuri got busy with a chore and was a little late, and then she waited for five minutes, and ten.

After twenty minutes of waiting, Claire gave up and finished the rest of her chores. She didn’t have much to do that afternoon, none of her crops were ready to harvest and her animals were all contentedly grazing in the pasture. When she finished she faced half an afternoon of free time. Her original plan had been to ask Popuri if she wanted to go to the beach with Claire that afternoon – so far this season, Claire has spent very little time at the beach. A swim in the ocean would feel heavenly after a hot day of work.

Claire didn’t have to be a genius to realize that Popuri was probably there with Kai. He was undoubtedly the reason she had forgotten about their date. Claire shook herself. It wasn’t a date, she reminded herself sternly, it was just neighbors talking to each other when they happened to be outside at the same tie. That’s all Claire was to Popuri; a neighbor and a friend.

Claire could still go to the beach and enjoy a swim. It wasn’t like Kai’s snack shack was the only place to sit. At the same time, she knew that if she went she would still sit with Popuri and Kai and she wasn't sure she wanted to play second fiddle to their unsubtle flirting.

Maybe Claire would take a hike up the mountain and see if any more summer wild berries had ripened. She could even take a swim in the lake – surely it would feel just as nice as the ocean.

Claire shed her dirty work clothes and changed into her swim suit. She was just going to pull on a clean t-shirt and comfortable pair of shorts for her hike up the mountain, but she pulled out a tank top instead. It wasn’t in her usual rotation of work clothes; it was a little nicer than her normal clothes and something she tried to save for special occasions. It wasn’t really fancy, just a white tank top with a gold sequined heart on the front, but Popuri had mentioned she thought it was really cute when Claire had worn it a couple weeks ago.

Claire held the shirt up and felt a stubborn flash of spite. She wasn't going to let an unrequited crush ruin the fact that she now lived within walking distance of a gorgeous beach.

Claire put on the tank top and rolled a few supplies up into her towel and set off for the beach.

Except Claire didn't make it to the beach. She barely made it into town square before she was almost bowled over by Popuri.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry, Claire," Popuri stuttered, picking up her dropped beach towel.

"It's all right. No harm done. Are you okay?" Claire could tell in an instant that Popuri wasn’t okay. It was in her voice, and the redness of her cheeks, and the furious tears she couldn’t hide.

"I'm fine," she lied flatly.

"No you're not. Come on, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

Popuri shot a dirty look over her shoulder in the direction of the beach. "I guess... it's just... those... those assholes!"

"Come on, walk with me," Claire said soothingly, changing direction and leading Popuri down the road that would take them out of town and up to the goddess spring. "Now, who's an asshole?"

"Rick. As usual." Popuri spat. "And Kai too!"

"What did they do?"

"Well, Rick was being his usual self. He refuses to teach me anything useful to help around the farm. He says that it's “men's work” and I couldn't handle stuff like that. I should just stick to cleaning and cooking, and just feeding the chickens. Ugh!"

"Ugh indeed!" Claire said hotly. She always knew Rick was a bit over protective of his little sister, but she never realized he actually believed in such things like "men's work" and "women's work." Ass.

She could spy people up at the hot spring so she bypassed the steps and took the path to the lake.

"And then!" Popuri continued, getting louder as she vented. "I asked Kai for his opinion. I thought he would side with me, but no! He agrees with Rick! Can you believe it?"

Claire almost couldn’t. For the short time she had known Kai and Rick she had never known them to agree on anything. They would disagree on the color of the sky just to be contrary to each other.

Claire wrapped an arm around Popuri’s shoulders and gave her a quick squeeze as they approached the lake shore. "Yeah, well, men always think that anything they do is especially difficult because _they_ do it. They just want to feel special for functioning as a human being. God knows if they were in charge of the laundry and house work, they make them into Olympic sports."

Popuri laughed weakly, wiping tears from her eyes. She sat weakly on a large boulder and flicked a small stone into the lake. She stared at the ripples for a long quiet moment until the water fell still. "People think I'm useless because I'm a girl. Dad never taught me anything. Rick refuses to teach me. And Kai thinks the same way. And then Rick yells at me for not helping more around the poultry farm. How am I supposed to learn if he won't teach me?"

Claire sat beside her and Popuri leaned against her, resting her head on her shoulder. "If they won't help you, then stop asking them for help."

"But I don't want to be useless!" Popuri said fiercely, turning a confused glare to Claire. "It's like all Rick expects me to become is someone's pretty wife who will cook his dinners and clean his house and have his kids, but then he goes and sabotages every potential relationship for me. That's why he hates Kai, you know. I just... I just want to be something more than a pretty, brainless housewife."

"Look, just because _he_ won't teach you anything useful doesn't mean n _obody_ will. What do you want to learn? Farming stuff?"

"Yeah. I want to help more around the poultry farm. I know the shop stuff. I’ve always helped Mom with that, but Rick barely lets me help with the chickens."

"Then I'll teach you. I mean, I haven't been at this for very long and I'm still learning, but I can teach you what I know."

Popuri turned to her with bright eyes. "You'd do that?"

"Of course! You're my friend. I want to help you if I can.”

Popuri jumped to her feet, bouncing on the spot. "You mean it? Can we start tomorrow?"

"Sure."

"Yay!" Popuri grabbed Claire and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you so much! I'll be there bright and early, first thing in the morning." And with that she pressed a quick kiss to Claire's cheek and hurried off home.

Claire sat there for a stunned minute, her hand softly touching the spot on her cheek where Popuri's lips had been. She basked in the cozy glow of renewed hope. Maybe things weren't entirely a lost cause yet.

* * *

As promised, Popuri was at Claire's door first thing in the morning.

"This time I brought the eggs!" She said brightly, holding up a basket filled with half a dozen hard boiled eggs and a half loaf of bread.

"Oh… perfect," Claire said, still a bit slow and sleepy. "I just started a pot of coffee. And I've got some butter and strawberry jam. We can make toast to have with the eggs."

They ate a quick breakfast, and once Claire was suitably caffeinated, they started her morning farm chores.

Popuri was an attentive learner, and picked up on the animal care quickly. Claire kind of expected her to, considering she had been raised on a poultry farm and next to a cattle and sheep ranch. Even if she hadn’t been allowed to help, she would have absorbed some of the information by proximity. She was a little out of her depth when they moved onto the fields, but still made an effort to pay attention. She at least knew the corn, as they grew some every summer to make chicken feed.

By late morning, the sun was high and hot and they were both ready for a break.

"You know, I really admire you, Claire," Popuri admitted as they sat at the kitchen table with glasses of ice water.

"Me?"

"Yeah. You're so strong, and you do whatever you want, and you don't take anything from anyone, and you just came out here and decided to start a farm. That was so brave. I mean... how do you do it?"

Claire shrugged and was happy for the summer heat to hide her blushing cheeks. "I guess I've always done things my way. I had to."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, growing up, I figured out kinda quickly that there wasn't ever going to be a man in my life to tell me what to do or take care of me, so I had to be sure I could take care of myself."

Popuri frowned and insisted quickly, "Claire you are _so_ pretty! How could you think you'd never find a guy?"

Claire laughed a bit uneasily. "It's not that I don't think a guy would find me attractive, it's that I don't find guys attractive."

Popuri's eyes went wide and she quietly said, "Oh."

Claire looked down at her water glass. She didn't want to see the moment when her crush on Popuri would be sealed forever in the unrequited zone. She'd had enough crushes on straight girls to know how it ends.

"Well, girls are better anyways." Popuri said in an offhanded tone. "If there were more girls to date around here, maybe I wouldn't have to deal with guys like Kai."

Claire looked up hopefully. Her heart was pounding so fast, she wasn’t sure how her words came out so evenly. "You like girls?"

Popuri half shrugged and nodded, her cheeks bright pink. She also stared down at her water glass. "Well, yeah. I guess about as much as I like boys. But around here, there's not many other girls who like girls, so... it doesn't come up very often."

Claire thought she could burst into song, but stopped herself. Just because Popuri liked girls too still didn't mean Claire was her type.

Popuri cleared her throat and made a show of checking the time. "I, uh, I need to get back home now. Mom wanted me to help around the store today and I promised I'd be home before noon." She stood up quickly. "Thanks for everything, Claire, I learned a lot today."

Then she was gone before Claire could finish saying goodbye. Trying to not feel too disappointed, Claire went back to her chores.

* * *

There was a definite air of awkwardness between them when they met over the fence for the next few days. Conversations were no less friendly, and they weren't cut abruptly short for plans with Kai, but Claire also stopped bringing gifts. The message had been received.

Then on Saturday things came to a nervous peak. Popuri was waiting, twisting a strand of hair around her fingers. They barely got through a conversation, and Claire could tell this was the end of their friendship. They said goodbye and Claire turned to go back to work.

"Claire, wait!" Popuri called. "I-I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"Well, you know tonight's the fireworks show on the beach, and… I mean, everyone watches the show together, and friends will sit together, but sometimes couples do to and... well... would you want to watch the show with me tonight?"

"As... as friends?"

"N-no. As a couple."

Claire broke into nervous grin. "Yeah, I'd really like that."

Popuri grinned just as shyly. "We can walk together. The show doesn't start until dark, but..."

"Let's go earlier? We can hang out on the beach for a while."

"Okay!" Popuri did a little excited bounce, her grin widening. "Meet me at seven?"

Claire met her at seven sharp. She had spent longer than she wanted to admit agonizing over what to wear. She had her swimsuit on under her clothes, and after going through half of her wardrobe had settled on the white and gold sequin tank top again. She had never been one for make-up, but she did tie her hair up into a slightly fancier style of ponytail, and put on a very light lip gloss. It was a date after all.

Popuri looked as cute as ever. She had braided her hair over her shoulder, and wore a teal button down over her swim suit. She had tied the shirt up into a crop top, and combined with her denim shorts, big sunglasses, and flip flops, she looked the picture of a model at a beach-themed shoot.

“You look really nice!” they both said at the same time.

Claire laughed and held out her hand. Popuri took it and they walked together to the beach. It was a little crowded for the festival, but they were early enough to be able to snag a prime spot. They spent some time swimming in the wonderfully cool ocean, and afterwards let the lowering sun dry them while they chatted away with each other and other villagers.

Before he closed shop for the night, they grabbed some snacks from Kai's shack. When he asked Popuri where she had been for the last few days, she replied airily that she had been busy, and barely spared him a glance otherwise. Claire did her best to hide her triumphant grin. She didn’t particularly _dislike_ Kai, so she didn’t want to rub her date with Popuri in his face. Still, as they gathered up their food and drinks to return to their towels, Popuri was the one to take Claire’s hand as they exited the shop.

As they beach began to fill with more villagers and the sky began to darken, they carried their towels out to the end of the dock and settled in for the show. Claire was half afraid someone was going to say something rude, but the only person to talk to them was Rick, and he was just happy Popuri wasn't with Kai.

The first firework went off and they wove their fingers together.

"I always wondered how they make all those colors and shapes," Popuri mused aloud as the first firework faded.

"Something about different chemicals they burn," Claire explained. "Saibara told me."

"Wow."

A volley of fireworks went off, bathing them in the multicolored glow. As they faded and went silent, Popuri admitted quickly, "You know I liked you from the day I met you."

"Yeah?" Claire asked. Her face was hot and she knew it wasn’t because of the warm night. "I did too."

More fireworks went up, making them go silent for a couple minutes. Popuri squeezed Claire's hand involuntarily at the big ones that exploded so loud she could feel it in her chest. Claire didn't see much of the fireworks; she couldn't take her eyes off Popuri. She was watching the show with wide eyes, and a broad grin on her face. She was almost shining with childlike excitement, and Claire couldn't look away. Then she got caught staring and had to take her turn watching the sky. A few times she caught Popuri looking at her and not the fireworks, but there wasn't any chance to talk. With the fireworks in full swing there were no breaks of silence. Not until the last starburst faded from the night sky.

With the others, they started packing up to go home. "May I walk you home, miss?" Popuri asked in a joking impression of a gentleman's voice.

"Of course."

They linked arms and joined the chattering crowd to file off the beach. The crowd thinned significantly once they got out of Rose Square. Most people were going home in town or to the inn to keep up the festivities at the bar. After they passed Yodel Ranch, they were left alone.

"I love this festival so much," Popuri sighed wistfully, "but it always makes me a little sad."

"How come?"

"It means summer's almost over."

"Oh, yeah I guess it does," Claire said quietly. She had been so busy this summer, time had passed so quickly. Some days it felt like she had just moved in and then she blinked twice and had been here for almost half of a year. They walked past the dark poultry farm where only the sleepy cluck of chickens settling down broke the silence, and turned down the road to Claire's.

"But I don't think I mind so much this year."

"No?"

"Well, it used to mean that Kai was leaving, and I would be alone again. But now you're here, and if we're together, maybe it won't feel so lonely when autumn comes."

Claire stopped and took Popuri's hands. They were facing each other and in the light of Claire’s porch light, she could see her garnet eyes shining. Claire’s heart fluttered with excitement and she said softly, "I think I'd really like to see what that will be like."

Popuri squeezed her hands. "You sure? Rick might turn on you when he finds out we're dating."

Claire smiled and leaned in closer, "I think I can handle Rick. I could probably kick his ass."

Popuri leaned in closer too until their foreheads were touching. "You'll have to teach me how to do that. I should fight my battles too."

"I'll teach you anything you want." Claire promised with a smile. She thought her heart was going to burst with joy.

They both leaned into the kiss at the same time, their lips brushing gently. There was just the slightest moment of hesitation as they looked into each other’s eyes and saw they wanted the same thing. They kissed again, tenderly, and then once more with excitement. Claire thought, as her arms wrapped around Popuri’s waist, this was a thousand times more exciting than the fireworks they just watched.

When she had moved to Mineral Town, she never thought she might find someone. Back then, she hadn’t even been sure of her ability to become a farmer. She was afraid that after a few months of barely scraping by with bills piling up and no money for food, she would have to give up her dream. But after just a few months, she was settling into things like she had been born to be a farmer. And when she met Popuri, she thought the odds of them dating were astronomical. She certainly never would have thought that she would get here from catching a runaway chicken.

Somewhere out there was a god or goddess having a great deal of fun proving Claire wrong.


End file.
